Winston’s Grille marks 40 years on Falls of Neuse Road

North Raleigh restaurant Winston’s Grille is marking 40 years in business this fall at 6401 Falls of Neuse Road in the Sutton Square shopping center in Raleigh. The restaurant opened in 1986, and the Triangle Food Blog marked its 40th birthday in a roundup published October 23, 2026.

The restaurant’s website now carries a banner celebrating the 40th anniversary and thanking customers, under the tagline “A Raleigh tradition since 1986.” The site describes Winston’s Grille as locally owned and operated for more than 40 years. As of October 29, 2026, neither the home page nor the blog item gives a date for an anniversary party or a special anniversary menu.

Two friends started it in 1986

Charles Winston Jr. and Wil O’Neal founded the restaurant. According to its history page, the two were lifelong friends in their early 20s when Winston, whose parents ran family-owned restaurants, asked O’Neal to help launch a new concept. O’Neal was managing one of the Winston family’s restaurants at the time.

A 2021 Raleigh Magazine profile of the co-owners filled in the family tie. Winston’s father, Charles Winston Sr., was the original co-owner of The Angus Barn, and O’Neal had managed one of the elder Winston’s restaurants in Greenville before the two became partners. Winston Sr. died earlier that year.

The business began as Winston’s. Expansions and renovations over the years turned it into Winston’s Grille, according to its website and the Triangle Food Blog. Raleigh Magazine placed it at a busy intersection near North Ridge Country Club.

Awards for the owners and the staff

The North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association named Winston and O’Neal restaurateurs of the year in its 2021 Stars of the Industry awards, Raleigh Magazine reported. Staff members had won in the two years before that. Longtime manager Roger Carter, who started as a bartender decades earlier, was the 2020 restaurant manager of the year, and Philip Gomes was the 2019 North Carolina restaurant employee of the year.

At the time of that profile, the restaurant had nearly 100 employees, and many had about 30 years of service. It closed for nearly three months during the pandemic and reopened in June 2020. The owners kept paying employees and providing benefits during the closure, the magazine reported, and bought heaters for the wraparound covered patio so guests could eat outside through the winter.

Winston said in the profile that “if you do something long enough, you might get lucky.” O’Neal’s advice for new restaurant owners was “Take care of your people.”

The awards have continued into the anniversary year. In Midtown Magazine’s 2026 Diamond Awards, published January 1, 2026 and decided by reader votes, Winston’s Grille took silver for Best Lunch Spot and bronze for Best Outdoor Dining.

Menu items and prices

The menu runs from sushi rolls and salads to steaks and house desserts. The restaurant’s website lists these prices for some of its best-known dishes:

• Winston’s Prime Rib, a 12-ounce cut served after 5 p.m., is $51.95.
• Shrimp and grits are $29.95.
• Cashew salmon with rice pilaf and sauteed vegetables is $32.95.
• The prime rib French dip with Swiss cheese and au jus is $22.50.
• Winston’s Old Fashioned Burger, made with flame-grilled chuck, bacon and American cheese, is $18.95.
• Most desserts, including the chocolate souffle and the toffee cake, are $11.25, and a dish of homemade ice cream is $7.75.

The homemade ice cream comes in flavors that include Almond Joy, butter pecan, coffee toffee, vanilla, strawberry and chocolate, with other flavors rotating in. Other entrees include a flame-grilled filet mignon and a marinated ribeye at $51.95 each, a pork chop at $32.95, and baby back ribs at $19.95 for a half rack or $31.95 for a whole rack. Most burgers, sandwiches and grilled entrees come with one side, and extra sides are $7.95 each. A kids menu covers children 12 and under.

The specials posted on the home page as of October 29, 2026 were creamy garlic Parmesan orzo for $29.95, balsamic salmon for $35.95 and braised short ribs for $46.95.

The restaurant adds a 3% surcharge to credit card payments, and debit card and cash payments carry no surcharge. Parties of six or more get an 18% gratuity, and parties of 20 or more get a 20% gratuity. Outside desserts carry a $15 cake fee, and corkage is $25 per 750 ml bottle.

Private dining rooms are available for events such as business luncheons and rehearsal dinners. Visit Raleigh’s listing counts four meeting rooms with banquet capacity for 132 people.

Hours and phone

Winston’s Grille keeps these hours, according to its website:

• Monday through Thursday, it is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and the bar stays open until 10 p.m.
• Friday hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Saturday hours are 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• The restaurant is closed on Sunday.

The phone number is (919) 790-0700.